Beethoven ROCKS!!!!!! Listen Live to the 9th tonight
Last night I attended the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra's performance of Beethoven's 9th Symphony and it was nothing short of fabulous! The St. Louis Symphony is one of the great symphonies in America and every bit of it's excellence was on display in this fantastic rendition of the brilliant 9th Symphony.
If you like Beethoven or if you like the 9th in particular I would encourage you to listen this evening to a live broadcast of this evening's performance which includes 4 incredible soloists and a magnificent and talented choir of well over a hundred voices. Last night they were outstanding and my guess is, if anything, they will be even better tonight.
Tonight (Saturday evening May 9) you can listen to this live performance at 8 p.m. Central time on the internet to the St. Louis Symphony. You will not be disappointed.
The symphony will be broadcasting from Powell Symphony Hall one block north of the Fabulous Fox Theatre in St. Louis.
You can tune in to the broadcast on KFUO 99.1 FM in St. Louis or go here on the internet:
http://www.classic99.com/listennow.htm
The station is broadcasting all day today nothing but the SLSO and they will also be broadcasting the Conductor's pre-concert lecture prior to the performance. So, pour yourself a glass of wine, turn up your speakers and... enjoy friends!
Wow Thanks Oleeb! I think I will. Always had a soft spot for the 9th, it is so very uplifting.
May 9, 2009 7:54 PM | Reply | Permalink
Little Alex thanks you...
May 9, 2009 8:21 PM | Reply | Permalink
Oh, forgot to mention, there's a piece prior to the 9th that's about 20 mintes or so. It's a modern selection. Wasn't my favorite, but it was interesting. At any rate, it clears the palate for the Ode to Joy that follows. Regardless, it's worth the wait for the masterpiece.
May 9, 2009 9:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Is it true that when considering on the original size of a CD, chairman of Sony chose to make it just long enough for Beethoven's ninth?
May 9, 2009 11:07 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes. The Japanese are famously adoring of Beethoven in general and the Ninth in particular. Before CD's you always had to turn the record over to hear the entire Ninth uninterrupted. So it just made sense to Sony that this was the measure of how long a CD should be.
May 10, 2009 9:45 PM | Reply | Permalink
I love these words. Little wonder the European Union has made the 9th it's anthem.
Joy, glorious divine spark,
daughter of Elysium,
we enter thy holy realm,
sublime one, heady with thy fire.
Thy magic reunites
all that custom sternly divided.
All men become loving brothers
where thy gentle wing abides.
I embrace you, all you millions!
This kiss I give to all the world!
Brothers! Above the starry vault
a loving Father must dwell.
Do you fall prostrate, all you millions?
Do you sense the Creator's presence, world?
Seek Him beyond the starry vault!
Above the stars He surely must dwell.
Friedrich Schiller
May 9, 2009 11:20 PM | Reply | Permalink
Don't you think it's a little ironic, though, when the Turks show up at the "Alla Marcia" of the fourth movement?
Surely somebody must have brought this up when the EU was discussing anthems...
May 10, 2009 11:05 AM | Reply | Permalink
Beethoven, he don' need no 'splainin'.
Heidi Grant Murphy, the soprano, is a favorite of mine.
May 10, 2009 9:34 AM | Reply | Permalink
She was fantastic!
May 10, 2009 11:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Thanks for the heads up, oleeb.
It's a shame KFUO only seems to stream in lo-fi (48Kbps). The SLSO deserves better.
May 10, 2009 2:00 PM | Reply | Permalink
Hey Oleeb, you got me playing it in the background for two days. Ha
Good show.
May 10, 2009 7:12 PM | Reply | Permalink